The strong MJO event I had posted about previously was over indonesia around Dec. 5th when it quickly dissipated. Perfect timing for me to catch some good waves while I was in Bali! The signal rapidly returned this week in almost the same position. You can see this progression traced out by the loop in phases 4-5 on the RMM index.
It's not clear whether these two events are related in any way. Good arguments could be made either way. From both figures you can get a sense of how hard it is to define a "typical" MJO event. In spite of the sharp spectral signature of the MJO in observations, the initiation and progression of each event varies substantially. This is part of why studying the MJO is so challenging.
Based on the recommendation of some locals I found the area of Chinatown with the "hawker" stalls. There is a street that is especially known for its street food, as well as a large complex where the second floor is full of hawker stalls that all specialize in one thing or another. The food here is very cheap so I was able to gorge myself and try lots of new things.
For brunch I started off with friend black carrot cake. The "carrot cake" is not like what you think of. it reminded me of the "rice cake" that I found all over South Korea that had a texture just like mochi.
Then I decided it was time to try chicken feet! I've talked to many people about this, because I've always suspected that these would be disgusting given that there can't be much, if any, meat on them. There seemed to be some version of "chicken claw" at every food stall so it seemed like a good time to take the plunge.
My suspicions were correct, they are disgusting. Just skin, bone and ligaments. I can't fathom how they came to be so popular all across asia. I made a friend who ate with me during this experience. He was chinese but had grown up in Australia and had a thick accent. He thought they were gross too.
Among a couple other interesting things I found one stall advertising turtle soup! Let me first say that I like turtles. Turtles are really cool animals. I also think whales are amazing and majestic creatures, but I have no problem eating them as long as their populations aren't in trouble. So don't be a hater just cause I like to try unusual stuff.
Anyway, the soup was really good. Broth was clear, like chicken broth, but didn't taste at all like chicken broth. I found it hard to find something to compare it to. The turtle meat was similar to crocodile meat. The texture was in between chicken and fish, but closer to fish. I tried to ask the lady what type of turtle was in the soup, but she never gave me a straight answer. I saw an ad for her stall down the hall that had a picture of a turtle, so I probably whatever this one is called.
Notice that they also serve frog soup! I went back to this area for dinner. At first I wanted to try the crispy BBQ duck I see hanging at shops but I ended up getting a noodle dish with pork dumplings that was excellent.
I decided to get a dessert and stopped at a stall selling all kinds of ice cream and "jelly". I was a little confused about what everything was and ordered something with "sea coconut", also known as coco de mer. It wasn't bad, but it was odd. Should have gone with the lotus seed bun.
There were so many other things I really wanted to try but didn't get the chance. At least it gives me some goals to shoot for the next time I'm travelling in Asia!
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